The Old Guard
by Courier999
Summary: The year is 1974. HYDRA rears its head once more, and the US responds by creating a crack team of soldiers to fight them wherever they may emerge. The name of this team: GI Joe. Prequel to "The World's Finest Soldiers", and set in the Earth-H continuity. Rated T for violence and drug use. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

GI JOE: The Old Guard

 _GI Joe, M.A.S.K,_ and related characters are property of Hasbro. _X-Men_ and related characters are property of Marvel. This is part of the Earth-H continuity.

Chapter 1: Once More Into The Breach

BOSTON, MASSACHUSSETTS- 1974:

"Sergeant Colton-"

"It's _Lieutenant_ Colton now, Carl."

Carl Greer glared at his prior NCO.

"What do you want from me, Joe? I though we parted ways after what happened in Vie-"

"This hasn't a thing to do with 'Nam, Doc. Give me a chair and I'll explain."

Greer nodded as he pulled out a kitchen chair for his fellow soldier.

"Ever hear of HYDRA?" Colton began.

"Only on those old _Captain America_ radio shows and comics. Why do you ask?"

"They're still around. They've been lurking in the shadows for just over thirty years now, and they're likely to strike very soon."

"What've I got to do with this?"

"The powers that be need someone to deal with them. They chose me to assemble a team-"

Greer broke out laughing.

"What's so funny, Doc?"

"You in command of an elite fighting force?! Sergeant-"

"Lieutenant."

" _Lieutenant_ Joe "Screams Like A Little Girl" Colton in command of a top-tier combat unit?! That's a rich one!"

A full minute passed before Greer stopped laughing.

"Why come to me?" he asked.

"You saved my life back in '71, and I need someone I can fully trust on my team."

Greer thought about it for a moment.

"Sign me up."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I've been working on this idea for a while now, and in that time, I discovered the "Adventure Team" incarnation of the franchise. In case you're wondering, the "Adventure Team" was active in Earth-H and led by the original Joe Colton around World War II and the Korean War. The one who's appeared in _The World's Finest Soldiers_ and in this fic is actually Joe Colton, Junior. Also, this is going to lead into a MASK fanfic at some point. And in case you're wondering, we won't be seeing younger versions of Cobra Commander or most of his lieutenants, since they won't be born until the early-to-mid 1980s, with the main exception being Zartan.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Meet The Team

FORT DEVENS- THE NEXT DAY:

Carl Greer was in his combat fatigues as he entered a small classroom already occupied by three other individuals. The one closest to the door had brown hair, wore an M-65 jacket and was intently focused on a book titled _Infantry Attacks_. Near him was a man with auburn hair and a kit-bashed microcomputer. And in the back of the room was an attractive blonde in a flight suit.

 _Colton, if you left me in a lurch, I'll have your hide._ Greer thought as he took a seat.

At that moment, Colton walked in.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm Lieutenant Colton. You're probably all wondering why I called you here-"

The blonde snorted.

"As I was saying, you're probably all wondering why I called you here. The short version is that HYDRA is back."

Four jaws dropped in unison.

"HYDRA? Weren't they-" one of the men began.

"Yes, they were destroyed. What we're looking at here is an attempt to revive that fearsome organization for God-knows-what. We five are going to stop them once and for all. We have the technology and the capability to do so."

A hand shot up.

"Yes, Mr.-"

"Abernathy, sir. Clayton Abernathy. Sir, is HYDRA the only reason why-"

"Not quite. There're other kooks in the neighborhood besides them. We've got some Soviet knock-off of _The Six Million Dollar Man_ and femme fatale super soldiers from the same."

The room grew silent.

"Moving on- roll call. Clayton Abernathy?"

"Present, sir!"

"Benjamin Parker?"

"Present, sir!"

"Carl Greer?"

"Present, sir!"

"Marie Danvers?"

"Here."

Colton finished checking off the list.

"Saddle up, troopers. We're heading out to California—"

"California?"

"Trust me on this, Parker. We've got contacts there- the Trakker brothers."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

If you're wondering why Marie Danvers is allowed to even be part of this incarnation of GI Joe, her piloting skills were enough to get her in. As for Colton's mention of a 'Soviet knockoff of _The Six Million Dollar Man'_ and 'femme fatale assassins', I'll let you connect the dots on those. And yes, their contacts out in California are the same Trakkers you're thinking of.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Behind the Masquerade

TRAKKER ENGINEERING- SAN FRANCISCO:

"And over here's one of our latest toys. Officially, it's called the UAH. But around here, we call it the Salish."

Marie Danvers looked at the sleek helicopter and let out a soft whistle.

"Impressive, Matt. Who can we thank for the design?" Colton asked.

"Miles."

"Miles who?" Parker asked.

"Miles Mayford. He's one of our guys. He's currently tied up in some hush-hush project with Andy. Something about reverse-engineering mysterious tech some flyboy found on a training exercise up in Canada."

"I see. So, what's this bird outfitted with?" Danvers piped up.

Matt Trakker grinned.

"Machine guns, missiles of all kinds, and depending on how Miles and Andy're coming along, we might be able to fit this puppy with a bona fide laser cannon."

"Bull." Colton replied.

"Oh, don't you 'bull' me, Lieutenant. Here at Trakker, we get the meaning behind 'No bucks, no Buck Rogers'. The Salish is bleeding edge, state-of-the-art. It'll take our competitors years to catch up."

"You do realize we technically own the thing now, don't you? We're not looking for a sales pitch." Doc replied.

"Fine then. You want brass tacks? I'll give you brass tacks. This bird's capable of going at nearly half the speed of sound on her own. Activate the jets and disengage the rotors, and you can get up to Mach 1. She's got stealth capability—"

"Just give us the copter." Abernathy snapped.

* * *

OAKLAND ARMY BASE- LATER THAT DAY:

"Lieutenant Colton."

Colton saluted the man addressing him.

"General Sawyer, sir."

"No need to 'sir' me, Joseph. Not when I was bouncing you on my knee when you were small- God, it only seems like yesterday."

Colton eased up as he took his seat.

"General, you wanted to speak with me?"

"I did. It's about your team. More specifically, it's about Greer and Parker. Why them?"

"Greer saved my life back in Vietnam. I trust him."

"But what about Parker? You d—"

"Sir, I did read Parker's file."

"Then you know about his little hobby."

"With all due respect, General, I think we're going to need somebody with those skills. Somebody who can handle a computer is going to be a vital asset."

"But you know about his other hobby."

Colton sighed.

"Yes, I know about him being a 'phone phreak'. Why do you think I chose him?"

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

If you're wondering what a phone phreak is, they were the ancestors of modern hackers. Ben Parker here (and yes, this is the Earth-H version of Uncle Ben) would've been right at the tail end of their golden age. To put things in perspective, hackers wouldn't become a thing until the late '70s/early '80s, with the advent of personal computers and Internet precursors such as bulletin board systems and Usenet. Also, Miles Mayford is the Earth-H version of Miles Mayhem from M.A.S.K. He just hasn't assumed the name "Miles Mayhem" yet, nor has he founded VENOM at this time. And finally, the Salish is essentially a tribute to Airwolf from the show of the same name. If you're wondering where the name came from, the Salish is an Amerindian ethnolinguistic group from northwest North America. For my international readers, the United States Air Force tends to name its helicopters after Amerindian tribes.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Behind The Curtain, Part 1

CASTLE KAUFMANN, EAST GERMANY- SIX WEEKS LATER:

"So, what's the plan?"

Doc, Abernathy, and Colton glared at Parker as the helicopter flew through the Alps.

"The plan is we get up to the castle, grab the intel, and then get out." Colton answered.

"Intel? What intel?"

"Didn't you read the briefing?" Doc snapped.

"I got as far as the part that said if we got caught, Uncle Sam would go 'GI Joe? Never heard of them.' Once I got there, I got up to reading about HYDRA—"

Abernathy put a finger to his lips.

"Danvers, status report." Colton ordered.

"Still flying NOE, sir. No sign of LSK or HYDRA aircraft, and I don't think anybody can see us from the ground."

"ETA until we hit the castle?"

"Five, ten minutes. Fifteen minutes tops."

Colton nodded.

"Thanks, Danvers."

He turned around.

"Everyone get ready to move. We're nearly there."

* * *

The Salish's cockpit was a blur of activity as Danvers brought the helicopter in for landing.

"Everybody out. Give me a call when it's over." she announced.

Parker was the first one out, with Doc and Abernathy following right behind him. Colton was the last man to hit the ground.

"As of right now, we are on our own. We will be on our own until we cross the border into West Germany. Right now, the plan is to get in, grab the intel, and get back out before anyone knows we're here. Any questions?" he said.

Silence.

"Let's go check out that castle."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

"NOE" means "nap-of-the-earth". It's when aircraft fly very close to the ground. And in case you're wondering, the Salish is pretty much just Airwolf with the serial numbers filed off. Moving on, I've decided to make a few bio things for the members of GI Joe here. First up: Marie Danvers.

Name: Marie Alice Danvers

DOB: April 1, 1948

Sex: Female

Rank: Senior Airman

Primary MOS: Pilot (fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters)

Secondary MOS: Ground transport


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Behind the Curtain, Part 2

"My God." Colton gasped.

The other three members of the infiltration team gawked at the scene before them. Dead and unconscious bodies were scattered throughout the entrance, and the room was too quiet.

"Any ideas?" Parker whimpered.

"Watch your corners and stay frosty. Whoever's here is trying to get under our skin. Parker, you and Abernathy—"

"Oh no! We are _not_ splitting up! If we split up, whoever's with us is going to have an easier job taking us out!" Parker stammered.

"Sir, he's right. Splitting up under these circumstances is a bad idea." Abernathy added.

Colton sighed in frustration.

"Point taken." he grumbled.

* * *

"'Join the Air Force,' they said. 'It'll be fun,' they said." Danvers griped inside the cockpit of the Salish.

She reached into an overhead compartment and grabbed a box of Virginia Slims and a lighter.

"Just what the doctor ordered- a good old-fashioned smoke break." she muttered to herself.

Before she could light up, she remembered something.

"Right…secret mission. Some goon with a pair of binoculars could see the glow."

Danvers mentally kicked herself as she put the cigarettes and lighter away.

* * *

"Guys? We got a live one." Abernathy announced.

The other four men turned around as their cohort stood over a dazed HYDRA trooper.

"You want us to—" Parker began.

"Negative. We need him breathing."

The HYDRA trooper began to stand up. Behind his gas mask, his eyes were wide as saucers as he saw the five soldiers nearby.

" _Treten Sie zurück! Ich habe eine Waffe!_ "

"Translation?" Parker asked.

"Says he has a gun." Abernathy answered

Colton sighed.

"Listen here, pal. We're not who you think we are."

" _Ihr seid nicht Sowjetische_?"

Colton turned to Abernathy.

"You talk to him. My German's a bit rusty."

Abernathy nodded and guided the HYDRA trooper to a chair.

" _Sprechen sie Englisch?_ " the former asked.

" _Ich spreche Englisch._ "

"Good. Now take off your mask."

The soldier nodded as he removed his helmet and gas mask, revealing a young Mediterranean man.

"Can you tell me what happened to the other troopers?" Abernathy asked.

"It happened so fast. One minute, everything was fine. The next— we never saw them coming! Three, four, maybe five of them! Taking rifle rounds and barely flinching! Dropping us with blades, fists, and pistols! Moving around like acrobats on amphetamines! The _Schwarzewit-_ "

Just then, the soldier dropped dead. Abernathy gawked as he saw a dart in the back of the man's neck.

"What the hell?"

Just then, three women in black catsuits materialized from the shadows.

"Who are you people?!" Parker pleaded.

"We are Black Widow." the trio replied in unison.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

None of the Black Widows appearing here is Natasha Romanov/Natalia Romanova. In-universe, she hasn't been born yet, and won't be for about another ten years. Needless to say, GI Joe is going to have an uphill fight. Here's a nice quote to demonstrate just what sort of foe they're up against: " _It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear_."

Yes, I know that's from the first _Terminator_ movie. It just so happens to be what I consider a particularly frightening version of the Black Widow program: young women who've had a lot of their bodies replaced or augmented with cybernetics and brainwashed so that they can go from a seemingly normal person to an unstoppable killing machine at the drop of a hat.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Behind The Curtain, Part 3

Time seemed to stand still as the Joes and the Widows eyed each other.

"Any ideas?" Doc whispered.

"Yeah, I got one." Colton replied.

"Tell us, O great Carnac." Parker snipped.

"We run. We're outmatched, and we're screwed if we stay and fight."

Abernathy nodded in agreement.

"Let's go!" he yelled.

Before the team made it out of the room, one of the Widows managed to tackle Colton to the ground.

"Get off me, you crazy Amazon!"

Colton reached for his sidearm as his opponent grappled with him.

"Let! Go! Of! ME!"

The pistol seemed to fly out of its holster and into the soldier's hand.

"Say your prayers!" Colton snarled.

The gun fired, hit its mark at point-blank range, and knocked her back a good foot or so.

"Kill con—"

The Widow rose up from the floor, seemingly none the worse for the wear.

"The hell?" Colton sputtered.

He fired another shot, hitting center-of-mass like he did with the last one.

"Parker, you and Abernathy get your hands on any intel you can find! Watch your backs, and shoot to kill!"

* * *

Danvers was napping in the cockpit when the sound of a whining jet engine echoed through the air.

"The h— oh no. No. No no no no no."

A quick look out of the window confirmed her suspicions. Streaking through the sky was a MiG-21 in the livery of the LSK.

 _Got to reach Colton got to reach Colton—_

* * *

Colton heard his walkie-talkie squawk.

"Hello?"

" _Colton, this is Danvers. We've got a bogie in the sky- looks like a Fishbed. Whatever it is you're doing, get it done pronto!_ "

"Acknowledged! Colton out."

He turned to another frequency.

"Abernathy, Parker! How's everything going?"

" _Everything's going well, sir. Parker's managed to open a safe that was connected to what I think was an extension of the castle's phone system— we've got more intel than you can shake a stick at, sir!_ "

"Good to hear, Abernathy! Right now, our priority is getting out of here!"

" _Pardon?_ " Parker asked.

"You heard me, soldier! We are leaving!"

" _Want us to report to your position?_ "

"Negative, Abernathy! You and Parker are to find and then take the shortest route to the LZ! Doc and I'll meet you there!"

" _Understood, sir. Abernathy, out._ "

Colton fired a few more shots at an approaching Black Widow before he heard the distinctive _CLICK!_ of a dry fire.

"Doc, let's get the hell out of here!"

"You don't need to tell me twice!"

* * *

Parker was clutching a bundle of documents under his arm as he and Abernathy made a run for it down the corridor. Right behind them was a Black Widow with a pair of very sharp knives in her hands.

"She's gaining on us! We're gonna die, man! Game over, man! Game over!"

"You finished whining, Parker?!"

"It's what I do!"

"Well stop doing it! Right now, I've got a plan to get us out of here, and you're going along with it!"

"What plan?"

"See those windows?"

A dawning realization hit Parker.

"You're not saying that we should-"

Abernathy grabbed Parker and flung the both of them out a window.

* * *

"That's two of you. Now where are Parker and Abernathy?" Danvers asked as Doc and Colton hopped into the Salish.

"I don't know. Give them two, maybe three minutes and then we leave."

"Understood."

Just then, Abernathy and Parker ran up the helicopter. Both were covered in lacerations, dirt, and what appeared to be flower petals.

"The hell happened to you?" Danvers asked as they climbed in.

"Out the window, into the flowerbed." Parker replied.

"You guys got the intel?" Colton asked.

Abernathy nodded.

"Good. Let's get the hell out of here."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: New Recruit, Part 1

USS _ASCLEPIUS-_ HONG KONG HARBOR, APRIL 1975:

" _We passed upon the stair, we spoke of was and when_ …"

"Doctor, the patient is coming to." a nurse murmured.

The patient's eyes fluttered open. Everything was fuzzy and hazy, and he couldn't distinguish anything beyond the cold sterile whiteness of the room.

" _Although I wasn't there, he said I was his friend…_ "

As his vision cleared, he could make out movement as what looked like a young woman in a nurse's outfit approached him.

" _Which came as some surprise…I spoke into his eyes_ …"

He couldn't remember much of anything, of what could have happened to bring him here.

" _I though you died alone…a long long time ago_ …"

The nurse adjusted the IV bag on the side of his bed.

" _Oh no! Not me…I never lost control…_ "

The heart monitor nearby began to beep faster and faster.

" _You're face to face…with the Man Who Sold The World_."

"Nǐ néng tīng dào wǒ ma? Nǐ néng tīng dào wǒ ma?" the nurse asked.

The patient shook his head.

"Can you hear me? Can you hear me?" she asked again.

There was a nod.

"Can you move?"

The patient raised his arm slightly, and a doctor walked forward.

"Sir, you've been in a coma for…quite some time. Yes, yes, I know, you'd like to know how long. I'm afraid it's been…three years."

The heart monitor raced again.

"You were injured…accident…foreign bodies embedded within you…physical impairments unavoidable…fortunate none were in your brain…better to understand…sooner than later…"

The patient looked and saw that his right arm was gone from the shoulder down, replaced by a cheap prothesis. Right on cue, the heart monitor began wailing like an air raid siren.

"Calm down, sir! Calm down! _NURSE!_ Get me a sedative ASAP!"

The heart monitor blared one last time before it was knocked off the bedside table.

" _NURSE!_ "

The patient watched as a hypodermic was jammed into his upper leg. The world began to go hazy once more.

" _You're face to face with the Man Who Sold The World_."

* * *

Outside the room stood a man in a US Army officer's dress uniform.

"What's his name?" the man asked, pointing at the patient through a conveniently placed window.

"Repeat that, Lieutenant Colton?" a nearby orderly replied.

"I asked who that man is."

The orderly thumbed through a small book of names.

"Sergeant Nathaniel Summers, US Army."

"Summers…I remember him. One of those snake eater types who didn't quite make the cut for the Green Berets. What happened to him?"

"Helicopter got shot down in '72. Frankly, I'm surprised he's not dead yet."

"You'd be surprised what a man can live through, kiddo."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Yes, this is the Earth-H version of Cable. Deadpool will be appearing in some capacity. And to answer the biggest question, this version of Cable is not directly related to Cyclops. As for the opening scene where Cable wakes up, it's pretty much a reference to the opening of _Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain_. Additionally, there is no USS _Asclepius_ , that was just something I made up. As for what version of "The Man Who Sold The World" is being played here, it's the original David Bowie one.

Finally, if you're wondering what happened between the last arc and the start of this one, it basically amounts to the GI Joe team having a few months of relative downtime while their immediate superiors go over the intel they grabbed in Germany.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: New Recruit, Part 2

"Don't ya just love monsoon season?" Danvers snarked as she looked out the window of the dive bar where the rest of the team was waiting.

Parker was silent as he sipped his beer.

"I asked a question!"

"Pipe down, Danvers. I'm trying to figure out what I could have done in life that led me to drinking some cheap brew in a honky-tonk in Hong Kong." Abernathy piped up.

"Ya gonna buy something or not?!" the bartender squawked.

"Yeah, I'll have a whiskey sour." Danvers snapped.

Doc was mulling over a cocktail when he heard the bar telephone ring.

"Gooseman's Bar. Yeah, I'll get him."

The bartender turned around.

"Phone call for Carl Greer." he announced.

Doc walked over to the bar and took the phone.

"Hello?"

" _Doc, it's Colton. How're you enjoying your furlough?_ "

"Could be better. This call business or pleasure?"

" _Business. We're heading back stateside shortly thanks to our new recruit and his…condition._ "

"New recruit?"

" _Yes, we have a new recruit. His name's Nathaniel Summers— I'll explain more later._ "

"Understood, sir."

* * *

On a rooftop across the street sat a man clad in a suit of black body armor, goggles, and a mask covering the lower part of his face. A tape player lay at his side, along with a Heckler and Koch PSG1.

" _Ground Control to Major Tom, Ground Control to Major Tom…_ "

The man adjusted his utility belt and secured his combat knife.

" _Take your protein pills and put your helmet on…_ "

The bar door opened, and his target stepped out into the rainy streets of Hong Kong. The man reached for a portable microfiche reader and popped in a cartridge.

* * *

SUBJECT: GREER, CARL WILSON

DOB: APRIL 1, 1955

AFFILIATIONS: UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES- TASK FORCE "GI JOE"

RANK: SERGEANT-MAJOR

PRIMARY MOS: MEDIC

TARGET PRIORITY: HIGH- TERMINATE WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE

* * *

There was a faint whirring noise as the man reached for his rifle with his robotic left arm.

 _Target acquired._ he thought.

He reached for the trigger and pulled.

* * *

Doc snapped to attention as the sound of a suppressed rifle firing rang out.

"What the-"

He ducked down just in time to avoid another shot.

"What the hell is going on here?!" he sputtered.

* * *

The sniper put away his gun and gear and leapt down from the rooftop, landing right in front of Doc.

"Hello there." he murmured.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

The song our mysterious foe is listening to is David Bowie's _Space Oddity_.


End file.
